1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to liquid separators for separating heavier and lighter fractions in a mixture of liquids. More particularly, but not exclusively, the invention is concerned with the separation of water from a lighter liquid such as diesel fuel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Water separators which are also know as water filters are used in many applications where it is desired to separate water contained within a flowing medium such as a liquid or a gas. However, the means used to separate out the water is different for a liquid or a gas. The present invention is primarily intended for use with separating water from a lighter liquid such as diesel fuel. Even more specifically, the present invention is intended to be used to separate water from diesel fuel where a pump is located downstream from a fuel reservoir and the water separator or water filter is located between the pump and the reservoir. Such an application would be for the operation of diesel engines, for example. It being known that water contained within the diesel fuel has an adverse affect on the operation of the diesel engine and indeed can cause severe damage to the diesel engine. However, the teachings of the present invention are not to be limited to the described specific application.
Prior art water filters when used in the described application, rely on the difference in densities between the water and the diesel fuel to achieve separation of any entrained water. In such prior art water filters, fuel enters an inlet port of the separator and into a bowl type of separation chamber. The fuel then enters a filter element, passes through the filter element and then out of an outlet port of the separator and on to the fuel pump. In these types of prior art water separators the water separation occurs in two stages, upon entering the separator chamber and upon passing through the filter element. The separated water collects at the bottom of the bowl which usually includes a valve to enable the separated and collected water to be drained from the bowl.
Unfortunately, the prior art water separators have been known to be relatively inefficient in separating the water from the fuel. Therefore, the fuel that is passed on to the diesel engine still contains an undesirable amount of water. As noted this undesirable amount of water can result in premature failure of the diesel engine requiring expense repairs or perhaps a new engine. The aforedescribed problem with the prior art water separators is somewhat dependent upon the fuel flow rate such that even though the problem exists with relatively low flow rates, the problem is exacerbated with increased or high fuel flow rates
Accordingly, There exists a need for a water filter or separator that more efficiently and effectively removes the water trapped within or mixed with a diesel fuel and or removes a greater quantity of the trapped water within a diesel fuel.
The primary object of the present invention is therefore to provide a water filter that effectively overcomes one or more of the above-described problems associated with prior art water filters, at all flow rates.
Other objects which, although not specifically stated, are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention, are accomplished by the present invention and will become apparent from the hereinafter set forth Detailed Description of the Invention, Drawings, and the Claims appended herewith.